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美国国家公共电台 NPR An Artist's Alternative Universe And His Warehouse Full Of Dolls

时间:2018-05-18 02:34:06

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LAKSHMI SINGH, HOST:

We're going to hear now about Trenton Doyle Hancock. He's a star in the art world, and he collects dolls. He has so many dolls and toys he needs a studio the size of an airplane hangar in which to store them. Hancock's work is in the permanent collections of leading museums, including the Metropolitan1 Museum of Art.

NPR's Neda Ulaby visited his new show in Philadelphia.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE2: As a child, Trenton Doyle Hancock made up a superhero - Torpedo3 Boy. The character is now the center of a complicated cosmos4 Hancock's developed over 30 years. It preoccupies5 his drawings, paintings, sculptures and now a stuffed torpedo boy doll.

TRENTON DOYLE HANCOCK: Well, he looks like me. He's a black guy. His face is basically my face.

ULABY: Torpedo Boy's a recurring6 character throughout Hancock's work and in this exhibition at Temple University's Contemporary Art Museum. The show is intended to reveal the connections between Hancock's massive toy collection and his celebrated7 art.

ROBERT BLACKSON: He's on the A-list.

ULABY: Robert Blackson runs Temple Contemporary. He says as soon as Hancock makes work, it's snapped up by fanatical collectors. But he does not cater8 to them. Hancock makes art entirely9 for himself.

BLACKSON: He has no choice. It's not something that he can walk away from.

ULABY: He's driven, Blackson says, by an intensely personal vision.

BLACKSON: He carries with him wherever he goes. He wears it almost wherever he goes. There's a truth there that you can't escape.

HANCOCK: I'm obsessed10 with my own childhood.

ULABY: For example, when you walk into this show, you're overwhelmed by bright reds, greens and yellows meant to evoke11 both a toy store and the tile in Hancock's grandma's bathroom. His stepfather was a minister and his mother a devout12 Christian13.

HANCOCK: She had an extreme flare-up of religion (laughter)...

ULABY: And would not let Hancock play with toys she found unwholesome. Partly in response, Hancock created his own fantastical alternative world he calls the moundverse (ph).

HANCOCK: Mounds15 are these half-human and half-plant creatures. They're kind of these dopey, big mound14 heaps that can't really move or do anything.

ULABY: The moundverse contains dozens of complex characters, including a goddess who controls color.

HANCOCK: And this color can be manipulated to fuel and different things.

(LAUGHTER)

HANCOCK: I know. It's (laughter) - I live in my own head.

ULABY: Many of the characters in Hancock's head appear in the show as dolls - shiny, plastic ones that are a little bit unnerving. As an African-American kid who did not own lots of black toys, Hancock's fascinated by what makes dolls objects of desire. He used to pore over the Sears catalog, analyzing16 toy packaging and production as a way of understanding social aesthetics17.

HANCOCK: Like, what was cute in the '60s isn't what was cute in the '70s and definitely isn't what was cute in the '90s.

ULABY: Hancock collects dolls he finds in thrift18 stores, often missing clothes and hair. He says that helps reflect on the values placed on skin and bodies. He only buys toys made from 1959 through 1990.

HANCOCK: The rule is, if I come across it at a thrift shop, I have to buy it from those years. (Laughter) That's why I have to have another warehouse19 to accommodate the collection at this point.

ULABY: Hancock took a group of young aspiring20 curators to the original warehouse last year.

IDA VILLANUEVA: I've never seen so many things - like, toys and colors - all at once. It's - like, that's really the most mind-blowing thing for me.

ULABY: Twenty-one-year-old Ida Villanueva is part of the Young Curators Council at Temple Contemporary. It's a project that trains young people of color from North Philadelphia to be curators. She's using Hancock's character Torpedo Boy as an inspiration for a workshop at a nearby Puerto Rican arts center.

VILLANUEVA: Families are invited - so parents and kids - to make their own superheroes based off of their cultural backgrounds.

ULABY: It's community engagement end, says Temple Contemporary's Rob Blackson, a response to a Mellon Foundation study that showed fewer than 10 percent of museum curators and leaders are black or Hispanic.

BLACKSON: That is way off the charts in terms of our own national census21 statistics.

ULABY: And in terms of the neighborhood where Temple Contemporary is located. Blackson also introduced Hancock, who attended Temple's Tyler School of Art, to a woman who runs a museum that's only a few blocks away. The Philadelphia Doll Museum only exhibits black dolls.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: For black children to see an image of theirself (ph) is a very positive experience.

ULABY: A short documentary about the museum is part of Hancock's new show. He collaborated22 with Barbara Whiteman on an exhibit inspired by the Clark doll test, where psychologists asked children in the 1940s to choose between a black and white doll. Most picked the white one. The results helped influence the Supreme23 Court case Brown v. Board of Education. The black and white dolls packing this room, says Hancock, reflect how toys have historically expressed a more limited range of possibilities for black kids.

BLACKSON: So it's like you're given a few options. It's, like, well, I can be this, this or this. But little white girls can be (laughter) that whole row of them with, like, 50 options.

ULABY: As whimsical as his work with toys might seem, artist Trenton Doyle Hancock says it's rooted in reality.

HANCOCK: And it's a very American reality.

ULABY: One he feels that needs a new mythology24 that reflects American histories and mistakes - the sort of mythology a person might start to invent as a child, maybe while playing with dolls.

Neda Ulaby, NPR News.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 metropolitan mCyxZ     
adj.大城市的,大都会的
参考例句:
  • Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
  • Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。
2 byline sSXyQ     
n.署名;v.署名
参考例句:
  • His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
  • We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。
3 torpedo RJNzd     
n.水雷,地雷;v.用鱼雷破坏
参考例句:
  • His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
  • Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。
4 cosmos pn2yT     
n.宇宙;秩序,和谐
参考例句:
  • Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
  • Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗?
5 preoccupies 4107ac6426ae0270738f4d66caa15d3a     
v.占据(某人)思想,使对…全神贯注,使专心于( preoccupy的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
6 recurring 8kLzK8     
adj.往复的,再次发生的
参考例句:
  • This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
  • For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言,它经过了一个反复考验的时期。
7 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
8 cater ickyJ     
vi.(for/to)满足,迎合;(for)提供饮食及服务
参考例句:
  • I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
  • Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。
9 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
10 obsessed 66a4be1417f7cf074208a6d81c8f3384     
adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的
参考例句:
  • He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
  • The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。
11 evoke NnDxB     
vt.唤起,引起,使人想起
参考例句:
  • These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
  • Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。
12 devout Qlozt     
adj.虔诚的,虔敬的,衷心的 (n.devoutness)
参考例句:
  • His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
  • The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。
13 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
14 mound unCzhy     
n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫
参考例句:
  • The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
  • The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。
15 mounds dd943890a7780b264a2a6c1fa8d084a3     
土堆,土丘( mound的名词复数 ); 一大堆
参考例句:
  • We had mounds of tasteless rice. 我们有成堆成堆的淡而无味的米饭。
  • Ah! and there's the cemetery' - cemetery, he must have meant. 'You see the mounds? 啊,这就是同墓,”——我想他要说的一定是公墓,“看到那些土墩了吗?
16 analyzing be408cc8d92ec310bb6260bc127c162b     
v.分析;分析( analyze的现在分词 );分解;解释;对…进行心理分析n.分析
参考例句:
  • Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据,暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
  • He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然,他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句
17 aesthetics tx5zk     
n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学,审美学
参考例句:
  • Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然,有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
  • The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。
18 thrift kI6zT     
adj.节约,节俭;n.节俭,节约
参考例句:
  • He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
  • His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。
19 warehouse 6h7wZ     
n.仓库;vt.存入仓库
参考例句:
  • We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
  • The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。
20 aspiring 3y2zps     
adj.有志气的;有抱负的;高耸的v.渴望;追求
参考例句:
  • Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
  • He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句
21 census arnz5     
n.(官方的)人口调查,人口普查
参考例句:
  • A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
  • The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。
22 collaborated c49a4f9c170cb7c268fccb474f5f0d4f     
合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 ); 勾结叛国
参考例句:
  • We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
  • We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。
23 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
24 mythology I6zzV     
n.神话,神话学,神话集
参考例句:
  • In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中,宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
  • He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

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